term% cat index.txt EXT2SRV(4) Kernel Interfaces Manual EXT2SRV(4)
NAME
ext2srv - ext2 file system
SYNOPSIS
ext2srv [ -vrs ] [ -f file ] [ -p passwd ] [ -g group ] [ service ]
DESCRIPTION
Ext2srv is a file server that interprets the Linux Second Extended File
System. A single instance of ext2srv can provide access to multiple
ext2 partitions simultaneously.
Ext2srv posts a file descriptor named service (default ext2) in the
/srv directory. To access an ext2 file system on a device, use mount
with the spec argument (see bind(1)) the name of the file holding the
raw ext2 file system, typically the disk or partition. If spec is un‐
defined in the mount, ext2srv will use file as the default name for the
device holding the file system.
Normally ext2srv creates a pipe to act as the communications channel
between itself and its clients. The -s flag instructs ext2srv to use
its standard input and output instead. This flag also prevents the
creation of an explicit service file in /srv.
The -v flag causes verbose output for debugging, while the -r flag
(recommended) makes the file system read-only. The optional -p and -g
flags specify Unix-format password (respectively group) files that give
the mapping between the numeric user- and group-ID numbers in the ext2
file system and the strings reported by Plan 9 status inquiries.
There is no authentication or permission checking. Anyone who can ac‐
cess the ext2 file system will have full access to all its files, in‐
cluding write access if ext2srv is not started with the -r flag, irre‐
spective of file ownership and permission flags.
Some file system state is cached in memory, and may be flushed only
when the file system is unmounted. Therefore if ext2srv is stopped or
the machine is rebooted while an ext2 file system is still mounted, the
superblock on the device will have been marked `not valid' (unless the
-r flag was used), and a fsck will be required before that file system
may be mounted again.
BUGS
There is no authentication or permission checking. The implementation
has not tracked any changes to the ext2 specification since it was
written. There may be other bugs. It is advisable to use ext2srv in
read-only mode whenever possible.
AUTHOR
Bodet Laurent (bl@mime.univ-paris8.fr), with later updates by Russ Cox
and Richard Miller.
EXT2SRV(4)